Police: Florida clerk's gun beats thief's cattle prod

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a Florida Panhandle man has been arrested after he tried to rob a convenience store with a cattle prod but was thwarted by a clerk with a gun.

The Leon County Sheriff’s Office says 26-year-old Lance Tomberlin went into a store just outside Tallahassee on January 2, produced the cattle prod and demanded money from the clerk. Officials say he shocked the clerk several times before the clerk pulled a handgun.

Authorities say Tomberlin fled and another employee tried to restrain him, but he eventually escaped in his truck. Deputies stopped Tomberlin’s truck but he fled on foot.

The sheriff’s office says Tomberlin was arrested Tuesday and charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery.

Jail records didn’t say if Tomberlin had an attorney. He was being held without bail.